Life Changing Moments
by Sea Stone1
Summary: A Young Jedi Knights fic. What would happen if Tenel Ka used to be a 'perfect' princess and why did she change so drastically? Wow, I must be getting really brave, writing an action story with a plot! BTW: I'm still working on the ending, I know it's bad.


Life Changing Moments

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't get paid, wished I didn't care.

Summary: A Young Jedi Knights fic. What would happen if Tenel Ka used to be a 'perfect' princess and why did she change so drastically? Wow, I must be getting really brave, writing an action story that actually has a plot! BTW: I'm still working on the ending, I know it's bad.

"Hurry along, Princess." The attendant said. "I'm trying. It's hard to hurry and not wrinkle my dress at the same time." Tenel Ka replied. Looking down at the golden folds of her gown she found a small crimp. "Once we are on the ship we can straighten it out but now your parents are waiting for you." The attendant said. Sighing, Tenel Ka hiked up her gown a bit and walked quickly down the hall. Once aboard the grand ship she proceeded to the lounge where her parents waited. "Hello Mother, Father." Tenel Ka said. "What kept you, my daughter?" her father, Isolder, asked. "My gown." Tenel Ka sighed. "If I walked too fast, it wrinkled." She saw her mother and father exchange glances. Tenel Ka didn't know why, but her parents, especially her mother, always seem disappointed in her. Only her grandmother somewhat approved. "You had us worried. We thought something had happened to you." Her mother, Tenenial {A/N: sooo sorry if that isn't spelled right, I'm just too lazy to look it up!}said. "I'm sorry. Next time I will leave earlier." Tenenial frowned to herself. Her daughter had rejected her Dathomirian {A/N: same here!} ways and had become spoiled, self-centered, superficial and dependant. "May I go to my room now?" Tenel Ka asked in a way that clearly said _no_ was not an option. "Yes." Isolder replied. After their daughter left, he reached over and patted his wife's shoulder. 

Shutting the door behind her, Tenel Ka sat on her canopy bed. _Coruscant_, she thought. _They're dragging me to Coruscant._ There was this big banquet thing that the Chief of State was hosting and Tenel Ka was less then thrilled about it. In fact, when her parents told her she had to go Tenel Ka through and broke and Ithorian vase. But it hadn't helped. In fact, it made her father more determined to make her go. Moving to her vanity, Tenel Ka took out a brush made of pure pearl. Unfastening the veil across her mouth, she started brushing out her red-gold hair. "At least," she sighed to herself. "the Chief of State has two children that are also 13. Maybe-" Tenel Ka was jarred out of her thought and her chair as well. The ship rocked. "Mother, Father, what's going on?" she cried, running from her room. "The ship's being attacked." said Kale, her personal bodyguard. "Come Princess." Tenel Ka tried to rush past Kale to see if her parents her okay but he wouldn't let her. "Princess, you must come with me." Kale said. "But my parents!" she cried. Kale ignored her. He picked a struggling Tenel Ka up and ran to the nearest escape pod. "This will take you to Coruscant." Kale said. "I will stay here with your parents." He locked the pod hatch and jettisoned it away from the ship. Tenel Ka pounded on the hatch, knowing she wasn't doing any good. A few minutes later she saw the ship go up in flames. And then there was nothing left but space dust. The vessel that attacked their ship disappeared into lightspeed. "No!" Tenel Ka cried. She burst into tears and beat the hatch until her knuckles bled. 

A clang awoke Tenel Ka from her fitful sleep. The hatch opened and she peered out. The pod had landed in a dark ally. Tenel Ka looked up. The sun was almost visible. She was considering going back into the pod when she heard a rough voice say, "I heard it land over here." "Who do ya think was in it?" a hard female voice demanded. "One unlucky fella." A third voice replied. Harsh laughter echoed through the ally. Tenel Ka broke into a run. She climbed onto a stack of boxes and over a wall. She cringed, hearing her gown tear. "Hey wait!" the first voice demanded. They had seen her! Tenel Ka raced down the street and heard the gang give chase. Darting over wall and down stairs, Tenel Ka knew she was getting herself hopelessly lost. But still the chase continued. Suddenly the heel broke off the shoe she was wearing. Tenel Ka gave a short, sharp cry and tumbled to the ground. Scrambling to her feet, she turned a corner. Tenel Ka heard her small purse jingle to the ground. She made a face but knew better then to go back for it. "Would you look at the size of those cred chips!" a gang member shouted. A few stayed to collect them but others still pursued the source. Suddenly, Tenel Ka crashed into something. Before she could cry out, a hand closed over her mouth and she was pulled into a doorway. She bit the hand that held her mouth shut. "Ow! Dang, you want them to find you or not!" a voice hissed. The gang ran past. Tenel Ka jumped out of the doorway. "Who are you?" she asked. A boy that looked around her age stepped out. He was tan with warm dark blue eyes and a cocky grin. His longish brown-blond hair was tousled and his clothes were worn and torn. "I might ask you the same thing." He said. "I'm Jade." "Jade what?" "Just Jade. How bout you?" Tenel Ka drew herself up. "I am Tenel Ka Chume Djo, princess of the Hapes Cluster." "Hey whoa, I wouldn't go bragging about that down here." Jade said. "As you can tell, the locals don't take well to authority." He grinned. "By the way, how'd you get down here?" Tenel Ka summarized the story and told it to Jade. He gave a low whistle. "Harsh. So now what are you going to do?" She sat down against the wall. "I don't know." She said, beginning to cry. "I'm lost." "Hey whoa, don't start to cry on me." Jade said, holding up his hands as if to ward off an attack. "Well, what else am I going to do?" she asked, looking up at him. Jade thought a minute. "C'mere. I'll take you to Tiger." He said, helping Tenel Ka up. "She'll help." "Who's Tiger?" Tenel Ka asked, walking beside Jade. "She's my friend. She's fifteen and she lives with her brother. Tiger is short for Tigers Eye. The least she can do is clean you up." Tenel Ka tried to keep up in her uneven shoes. "How much longer?" she asked. "Don't tell me your tired already." Jade said laughing. "Well, these aren't my usual walking conditions." Tenel Ka replied. "Usual walking conditions?" Jade said, laughing even harder. "Oh, shut up." she snapped. _If I didn't need him,_ Tenel Ka thought, _I'd slap him._ They walked a little farther and got to an old building. "She lives here?" Tenel Ka asked, raising her eyebrows. This angered Jade. "Listen, I don't care if your goddess of the universe. You won't insult my friend." He said and spun to the door. They didn't slow his pace until they got to Tigers apartment but his shoulders relaxed and he seemed to be less angry. Jade knocked on the door. "Hey Tigger, its me, open up." 

The door flung open. "Jade is that you?" a female voice said. A girl appeared in the doorway. She had long, thick black hear and sharp green eyes. She hugged Jade. When Tiger pulled back she saw Tenel Ka. "You don't come to see me for a month and now you bring a girlfriend?" she asked smiling. Tiger turned to Tenel Ka. "Hi, I'm Tiger." She said, extending her hand. Tenel Ka shook it gently. "I'm Tenel Ka and I am **not** his girlfriend." Tiger laughed. "You wish." Jade said mildly. "Hey Tiger, we need your help." He briefly explained the situation. "First thing we need to do is clean you up child." Tiger told Tenel Ka. "Right now you're a bantha's eye target for thieves." "While you ladies work this out, I've got some business to take care of. See you in about an hour." "Hey, meet us at 'Smoke Rings'. I got a gig there." Jade gave them the okay sign without turning around. "You have a job?" Tenel Ka asked. "I sing." Tiger said simply. "Now it looks like you could use a shower and a change of clothes."

Soon, Tenel Ka was clean and dressed in denim pants and a red tank top. "These clothes feel so strange." Tenel Ka said, fidgeting a little. Suddenly, realizing that she might have insulted Tiger, she added, "But I like them. Thank you." "Your welcome. Now your hair." Tiger replied. "But we don't have much time before we have to leave." Tenel Ka said, shocked. "Don't worry. This'll take two seconds." Tiger got out a comb and a big clear clip. She combed and then twisted Tenel Ka's hair up so it looked like she had shorter hair in a ponytail. Then Tiger pulled a piece of hair out of the front so it hung down the side of her face. "I'm gonna throw on some show clothes." Tiger told Tenel Ka. When she was gone, Tenel Ka looked at herself in the small mirror. Without her makeup and lace it looked like a stranger staring back at her. Sliding on the boots Tiger had given her, Tenel Ka made a serious face. She felt so different she almost laughed. Tiger came out and did laugh. "I take it you like your new look." Tenel Ka nodded. She found that Tiger was wearing similar clothes. Black leather pants and a sparkling dark green tee shirt with sleek black boots. However, her hair was unbound and she wore a touch of light colored lipstick. "C'mon, lets go." Tiger said. They left the small apartment and started down the street. Tenel Ka could keep up fine, much to her surprise, but Tiger knew the streets better. Soon they came to a small, loud, smoke-filled cantina. Tiger lead her back to a small booth in the back. Jade was already there. Three cups were on the table. "I ordered these for you. They're practically the only nonalcoholic thing here so you better like it. There isn't much else to chose from." He said with a wave of his hand. They slid into the seat opposite of Jade. "Where'd you disappear to?" Tiger asked him. "Sightseeing." He replied grinning. "I tipped off some authorities about the princess here." He jerked his thumb towards Tenel Ka. "They're expecting her to show up around the 11th hour in the upper levels." Tiger nodded but Tenel Ka was shocked. They had already found her a way home! "Thanks." She told Jade. He shrugged. "I'm up." Tiger said walked to the stage. There wasn't even an introduction, but the second she stepped onto the stage the whole room of thugs, partiers, and drunks grew silent. Tiger started with a few fast, upbeat songs. "Wanna dance?" Jade asked Tenel Ka. "I don't know how." She replied. "I was only taught traditional dances." "Here, I'll teach you." Jade said, pulling her onto the floor before she had a chance to protest. He taught Tenel Ka a few steps. To her surprise, she was actually having fun. The crowd started to get a little rowdy so they returned to the booth. Before the crowd got too rough, Tiger slowed the music. As she sang, everyone seemed to somewhat calm down and return to their seats. Tenel Ka even saw a few old spacers wiping at their eyes, as if the soft music brought none to happy memories back. When the music stopped Tiger announced that the group was taking five and would be back before returning to the booth. "Great job, as usual." Jade said. "Yes, your very good. Why do you waste time?" Tiger gave a short laugh and looked at her hands. "When you got a life like this it's hard to go anywhere." It may sound strange considering what she had already been through today but this was the first time Tenel Ka realized how much she had cut herself off from reality. She had always assumed that people that had a bad life deserved it because they would never be able to make anything of themselves anyway. But that was another belief this day had proven wrong. Maybe, just maybe, her mother was right. Suddenly, a bang came from the other side of the room where a Talz and a Wookie were playing sabacc. The Talz was claiming that the Wookie was cheating. The angered Wookie threw a large chair at the Talz. Within a few minutes the whole cantina was in an uproar. "Come on, let's go!" Tiger shouted to Jade and Tenel Ka. They started making their way to the back exit. Tenel Ka suddenly stumbled and hit the back of an occupied chair. The Bothen turned and said, "You lookin' for a fight?" his violet eyes flashing. He raised an empty bottle to strike her. Tenel Ka's eyes widened in terror. Suddenly, Jade was there. He blocked the bottle with a board. It shattered and pieces of glass rained around them. Tenel Ka wasn't cut but Jade was, mostly on his arms but one long cut ran along his forehead. "Jade!" she exclaimed. "Run!" he yelled back. Tenel Ka didn't need any urging. She ran after him, and couldn't help but notice how much easier it was to get away without heels and a dress. The Bothen let out an enraged cry. He flung the board Jade had dropped at them. Tenel Ka managed to dodge it, but Jade wasn't so lucky. The board struck him in the back of the leg. Jade went down. Then Tiger was there. Together, her and Tenel Ka helped him out the door. 

Once out, Jade fell against the wall. "He hit you pretty bad, didn't he?" Tiger said, wincing at Jades cuts. Jade shook his head. "I'm just a little banged up. Don't worry." He tried to stand up, as if to prove his point. When he put his weight on his right leg, it buckled. "I'll calling Adam." Tiger said, taking an out-dated comlink out of her pocket. "Adam here." A gruff sounding voice came. "Adam, this is Tiger." She said. "Hey sis, what's up?" Adam replied, his voice softening a little. "We need a ride." Tiger explained the situation to him. "So Jade can't walk and we can't carry him. That leaves you." "Glad to know I was your first choice." Adam said, his voice betraying a smile. "I can be there in ten minutes." "Great, see you then." Tiger replied. "Adam, over and out." "How much did you earn tonight?" Jade asked Tiger. "Enough." She replied. Blood trickled down Jade's face. He attempted swiping it away but missed. Tenel Ka reached into her pocket and pulled out the golden handkerchief that was made to match her gown. What she was about to do would probably ruin it forever but one look at Jade's pained face said that it needed to be done. Using the handkerchief and an old waterspout they found, Tenel Ka began to clean Jade's wounds. A few minutes later she tucked the blood stained cloth back in her pocket. "Thanks Princess." Jade said. Tenel Ka nodded. "Okay, well that's very touching but Adam's here so we gotta move." Helping Jade up they walked to the broken-down junk hauler of a hover car. Partway there, he stumbled against Tenel Ka. "Sorry." Jade muttered. "My knee's really starting to hurt." Soon they were in the car. "Hey Jade-man, haven't seen you in a while." The driver said. "Been busy Adam-dude. Like you haven't." Jade replied. Tiger rolled her eyes. "At least I haven't been rescuing princesses and getting into bar fights." Adam replied, starting the car. "I'm Tenel Ka." She said before Adam could ask. "The one Jade 'rescued'." Adam glanced back at her and said, "Lucky. You wouldn't happen to have an older sister, would you?" Tiger punched Adam playfully. "Nice try On-wannabe." He laughed. "Can't blame a guy for trying. Okay, I'm going to take you girls home and then I'll drive Jade home." When they got to the rundown building Tiger and Tenel Ka got out. "Later Jade." Tiger called. He raised a hand in farewell. Tenel Ka turned to him. "Goodbye Jade. Thank you for everything." "No problem. You'd probably do the same." Jade replied. Tenel Ka shook her head. "No, I wouldn't of. Not before today. Thanks." Jade nodded. "Later Princess." "Later Jade." Adam drove off and they went inside.

Tenel Ka sat bolt upright on her sleeping pallet. She was gasping for breath and drenched in a cold sweat. "Tenel Ka, what is it?" Tiger asked groggily. Tenel Ka had just woken up for a dream of her parents. "My parents. I had a dream about them." "Oh." Tiger said knowingly. "Do you know if they're okay or not?" "That's just it!" she said, pounding the floor with her fist. "I should know! If I had listened to my mother and excepted her force training I would be able to but I didn't!" Normally Tenel Ka would have started to cry by now but she held back the tears. "Maybe it took this to make you see things differently." Tiger said softly. The two talked late into the night until both felt better.

__

Same time, different place

Jacen Solo lay in bed. He sported bandages around his head and leg. He had forgotten the excuse he had made for the cuts. Smiling to himself, he took the golden handkerchief out of his pocket. He had it cleaned so it was perfect again. The princess would never miss is and besides, pick pocketing was just one of the many skills he like to practice. In light of the recent events the banquet had been canceled so they wouldn't have to face each other. He doubted she would recognize him without his disguise on but it was better to be on the safe side. Jaina and Adam were the only ones to know about his double identities and Jacen intended to keep it that way. Before falling asleep, he idly wondered if Tiger would ask about the fancy bandages.

Stepping out of the repulser lift, Tenel Ka looked around. She was alone, wearing her gown, in the upper levels. Almost immediately, she was bombarded with guards. "I'm fine." She told them. "I wasn't kidnapped or anything." Suddenly her parents came into view. "Mother! Father!" Tenel Ka ran to them. "We were so worried!" her mother exclaimed. "I'm so happy your safe!" her father added. "Mother, I've made a decision." Tenel Ka said. "I will except you training." Tenenial's eyes misted over. "We will start as soon as possible." She said. "But what made you change your mind?" "Just some friends." Tenel Ka answered. 

THe eND


End file.
